Once again, the BBC fail to portray an accurate depiction of the intensification between Hamas and Israel in the Gaza Strip.
In doing so, the BBC are subtly indoctrinating the minds of its viewers through implicit suggestion that Israel is the aggressor, almost randomly targeting Gaza. The BBC crucially fails to put the situation in historical context.
A brief example -- the BBC persistently refer to "Israel's attacks" on a "Palestinian militant group." First, Israel is responding to unfaltering attacks, amounting to more than 6,300 rockets and mortars on Israeli citizens, since Israel left Gaza in 2005. Second, the 'militant group' are Hamas. Not a militant group in terms of a unified national army, but, an internationally recognised terrorist organisation who have taken control of the Gaza strip. On Saturday, Hamas re-declared war on Israel and proclaimed their ultimate goal is the destruction of Israel. Israel has been forced to respond so as to protect the lives of civilians, by way of targeting Hamas leaders through directed airstrikes and seeking to avoid danger to as many Palestinian and Israeli civilians as possible.
An innocent bystander relying on the BBC for information might have assumed that the BBC's lack of coverage in Gaza over recent months had been the result of a successful ceasefire. But, those who ventured beyond the BBC will be are aware this was unfortunately not the case. While a cease-fire officially existed between Israel and Hamas, for the past six months, it was in fact one-sided. Israel showed enormous restraint not to respond to the barrage of Hamas fired rockets from Gaza during that period. During the ceasefire, Hamas continued to expand its rocket range from 20 km to 40 km and as a result, can now target 2,500 Israeli civilians. In 2008 alone, more than 3000 rockets and mortars were fired from Gaza into Southern Israel. Recently, over 150 rockets were landing each day.
Our innocent viewer will assume that as soon as the ceasefire ended, Israel attacked Gaza. Indeed, the BBC report that Hamas blame Israel for the sea-change. This too, is untrue. Since the end of the Gaza ceasefire only 9 days ago, Hamas launched a further 190 rockets against Israeli civilians. Israel however, continued to show restraint and, as a gesture of good will, allowed approximately 90 trucks of medicine and goods including 500,000 litres of fuel and 200 tonnes of natural gas, into Gaza. At the same time, Israel continued talks with Egypt seeking to negotiate and secure peace.
The BBC fail to mention how Hamas have thanked Israel for a) uprooting over 9,000 Israeli civilians and removing all presence from Gaza in 2005 in an effort to achieve peace and, b) allowing the extra supplies on Friday. Since 2005, Hamas have launched more than 3,500 rockets and mortars into Israel and claimed responsibility for numerous terrorist attempts in the region. In response to Friday's generosity, Hamas fired more than 40 rockets into Israeli cities and vowed to continue the attack against Israel, on Saturday. The result? Hamas threatens the lives of 250,000 Israelis who live in range of Gaza fired rockets. Israel has had to order residents in the south of the country to remain in bomb shelters while Israel attempts to secure the region.
BBC coverage of the events in Gaza portrays Israel as causing humanitarian crises by refusing supplies into Gaza. In reality, Israel was providing almost 4000 trucks of aid a month to Gaza, along with fuel and electricity despite the ongoing attacks on Israel. Abdel Shaafi, director the United Nations Development Programme in Gaza, has denied that there is a humanitarian crisis. In December, he told Canada's Globe and Mail, that, "This is not a humanitarian crisis... It's an economic crisis, a political crisis, but it's not a humanitarian crisis. People aren't starving."
So, how has Israel responded to Hamas's renewed promise and upsurge of rocket attacks? In response to the daily targeting and killing of its civilians, Israel has targeted terrorists and terrorist infrastructure only, seeking to avoid harming Palestinian civilians. Sadly, however, Hamas leaders deliberately hide in densely civilian areas -- putting Palestinian civilians at risk. By using Palestinians as human shields, Iran-backed terrorists are causing the loss of lives on both sides.
Knowing this information, our no-longer naive bystander might be confused. Why does the BBC portray Israel in a negative light for protecting her civilians? Beats me! USA President-elect, Barack Obama stated on a recent visit to Israel, "If somebody was sending rockets into my house where my two daughters sleep at night, I would do everything to stop that, and would expect Israel to do the same thing." (Ravid, Barack 'Obama in Sderot: Nuclear Iran would be game-changing', Haaretz, July 23, 2008). No responsible government would watch in silence as its citizens were under constant attack.
Given the onslaught of rockets into Israel from Gaza, what is Israel to do to protect her citizens? What would Gordon Brown do if rockets were fired from Edinburgh onto Manchester, putting at risk the lives of innocent civilians living in Manchester on a daily basis? When will the terrorists, Hamas, stop the rocket fire so that both Israelis and Palestinians can have a better future?
Funny how the BBC keeps reporting that Gaza is "amongst the most densely populated places on Earth." They were at it again this morning. When one considers that the population density of the Palestinian disputed territories is below that of, say The Channel Islands, the Hamas apologists preferred retort is to single out just the Gaza strip and base their argument on its population density. Well it IS indeed quite densely populated but there are over a thousand areas within West Yorkshire, for example, which have much higher levels of population density, as indeed has the little Satan's Tel Aviv. So, in the interests of fairness, I wonder why BBC in these locations fail to preface ever report with this equally true demographic? Oh, that's right - it's about pushing the "Most Oppressed People in the Universe" narrative uber alles. It's not news anymore, it is propaganda.
Not alone
I have been horrified and angered by the coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict. While paying scant regard to the provocation of 10,000 rockets fired at Israeli civilians from Gaza over the last seven years, the BBC has chosen to broadcast 'human interest' stories reminiscent of salacious photos in the cheaper red top newspapers.
- Michael Fabricant MP on ConservativeHome.
CONVENIENT CONFLATION.
Once again, my breath is taken away by the upfront admiration that most BBC reporters seem to be showing for Hamas. I just caught the dog-faced Lyse Doucet on BBC 24 News enquiring of Abu Bowen if many people will be surprised how plucky Hamas are still "fighting back"? Then there was the convenient conflation of Hamas terrorist deaths with civilian deaths - giving viewers the clear impression that ALL those killed in Gaza are innocent. (No mention of the Fatah assassinations carried out by Hamas in Gaza, memory hole) This is the same trick they used in 2006 during the Lebanon crisis. The BBC has morphed in the oast few days into the Hamas Broadcasting Corporation, wilfully spinning events to suit their Gazan soul-mates.
HAMAS GOOD, HEZBOLLAH BETTER!
I was reading Abu Bowen's latest insight into the Gaza conflict and I was struck by his admiration for Hezbollah. I've added a few comments of my own into his commentary As he puts it "Hamas fighters, (Aka Islamic terrorists...DV) who know Gaza better than the Israeli troops, have a belief in resistance and martyrdom. (Terrorism and homocide bombing...DV) Their objective will be to give the Israeli army the same humiliation (Humiliation, mmm, interesting unbiased choice of word..DV) that Hezbollah inflicted during 2006. For all their bravado,(Hiding behind women's skirts..DV) Hamas are unlikely to be as formidable as Hezbollah. (Less Iranian munitions..DV? The rocky, hilly terrain of south Lebanon was not good for Israel's armour. Gaza, on the other hand, is flat and sandy." Goodness, if it weren't for the terrain....
Lord Ha Ha
First I want to pay tribute to the fantastic work David has been doing raising awareness of BBC anti-Israel bias. So important at the moment. Paul Reynolds responds here to allegations of anti-Israel bias, following an article in which he outlines as he sees them the main aims of the "Israeli propaganda effort". It's funny- I never actually seem to have noticed this Israeli propaganda. When I listen to an offical speaking, I evaluate him as I do any other politician :-). One of the aims according to Reynolds is to "justify the air attacks" in Gaza. Well, duh. He goes on to say that "The sight of Hamas rockets streaking into Israel has been helpful in this respect". Well, you don't say?
Comical Pauli seems to think that highlighting hostile actions to justify reprisals is propaganda. Ha ha.
As far as I am concerned, propaganda might be said to involve something like limiting to a trivial level the public's awareness of missile attacks taking place in violation of treaty over months and years. Now who could be accused of that, I wonder?
To support my point, I recommend reading this Huffington Post post, which explicitly accuses the BBC as I outline above:
"the BBC are subtly indoctrinating the minds of its viewers through implicit suggestion that Israel is the aggressor, almost randomly targeting Gaza."
IN GO THE TROOPS.
Great to see that Israel has defied even Annie Lennox and Bianca Jagger,and is now moving in to try and cleanse Gaza from Hamas terrorism. Did anyone catch Jeremy Al Bowen on the 10'Clock news instantly claiming that this military action was unlikely to work and soon Israelis would be asking was it worth it. Also, did you see Ken Livingstone and the London fedayeen getting lots of airtime as they wailed at the idea of Israel actually having the temerity to defend itself. Hamas must be eternally indebted to the rancid biased BBC - the shilling for Islamic savagery that passes for object reporting on the State broadcaster is truly shocking. My thoughts and prayers are with the brave men and women in the IDF who as I write this risk life and limb de-infesting the cess-pit of Gaza. God bless them.
ENOUGH WITH THE AID WORKER.
Ok, I'm fed up with the relentless Palestinian propaganda that the BBC is serving up on what it chooses to call the "Aid Worker Diary." Can someone direct me to whom in the BBC I can take my compliant since this one-sided narrative has gone on long enough. If you can help me - I will keep you all briefed on the subsequent conversation. If we are going to have "Aid Worker Diary" from Gaza, then we need to have "Aid worker Diary Sderot".
ONLY FOUR DEAD.
I just had the misfortune to listen to the BBC'S PM news programmewhilst cleaning my car. What an absolute disgrace! Did anyone else hear it? Not sure where to start. We were treated to a BBC reporter stating that although Hamas rockets now looked like they could target many more parts of Israel than has previously been the case (Cue applause?) we had to remember that "only four" Israelis had died so far. Only four.Meanwhile, as he briskly moved on, HUNDREDS of Palestinians have been killed. Once again the preferred BBC tactic of lumping Hamas terrorists and any innocent by-standers in one easy media bite-sized number being used for maximum impact. Then, just in case your sympathies with the Jihadists in Gazan had not been fully engaged, cue Red Ken! Yes, Livingstone was wheeled on to demonstrate his unrelenting and stomach-churning hatred of Israel, mouthing every pro-Palestinian cliche you could imagine. At no point was any other point of view allowed. Why? Can't PM find anyone who thinks Israel may have a case worth making? The BBC - giving you all the news Hamas want you to hear.
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